A Forced Marriage

Mu Zhuoyun knew that his daughter had been unconscious and remembered nothing of what had happened afterward, so he told Mu Ningxue everything he knew.

"I never thought that reckless boy actually had such depth of loyalty. He threw himself into danger to lure out the Giant Lizard Pseudo-Dragon — letting it and Lu Nian tear each other to pieces — and that's the only reason you and the others made it out alive. Mo Jiaxing came to visit you a while back. I tried to comfort him, and I even offered him a position under me with a generous salary, but he turned it down." Mu Zhuoyun's face was heavy with regret.

He had never particularly liked Mo Fan — that wild, unruly kid — but learning that the boy had given his life to save his daughter forced a complete change of heart. He had also quietly arranged for some of his people to look after Mo Fan's family. It was the least he could do.

"He... is he really dead?" Mu Ningxue asked quietly.

"Yes. The news came from Zhankong — he wouldn't lie about something like this. Don't grieve too much..." Mu Zhuoyun paused, something flickering across his expression. "Honestly, I never realized how much he cared for you. To throw away his own life just to save yours." He hesitated. "If I'd known... I wouldn't have treated him the way I did back then. Ah, well. What's done is done." A long sigh escaped him.

Mu Ningxue rested her chin on her knees and gazed absently out the window, her mind drifting back to the words Mo Fan had spoken to her that day in the church.

Had those words come from his heart?

It didn't matter anymore. She would never know. Those words had become his final farewell.

Whatever small flicker of hope she had once carried was now gone entirely, dissolved into nothing.

"Ningxue, don't use the Ice Crystal Slay Bow again for at least a year. I want nothing more than to see you establish yourself within the greater Mu Clan — but not at the cost of your wellbeing. Our little branch is already barely surviving, clinging to the edges of that vast institution here in the Imperial Capital. If something happens to you, this whole family falls apart." Mu Zhuoyun spoke with earnest gravity.

"I know. I'll be careful." Mu Ningxue gave a small nod, though her thoughts were still elsewhere, circling back to something she found strangely bittersweet.

Mu Zhuoyun did not disturb his daughter any further. He knew she was lost in memories of the boy who had once swept her away — spiriting her out of this gilded cage.

Once out of the room, he sank onto the sofa and finally let out a long, weary breath.

He had barely begun to think about next steps when the butler ushered in two visitors: a young man with a silver chain around his neck, and a middle-aged man whose hair was slicked straight back to expose his forehead.

Both were impeccably dressed and draped in accessories — jade pieces, dangling pendants, rings — whether these were merely rare ornaments or prized Magic Weapons was anyone's guess.

"Ah, Mr. Zhou and young Youhong!" Mu Zhuoyun scrambled to his feet to greet them. "Xiao Ling, Tushu — go fetch my finest tea leaves."

"Save your finest tea," said the middle-aged Mr. Zhou. "We only came to check on Ningxue's condition."

"She's resting, but please sit down. As it happens, I've been meaning to discuss something with you, Mr. Zhou — the full-channel acquisition of exotic bones across all the major market halls here in the Imperial Capital. I've been working toward this for quite some time. What do you say we arrange a meeting over tea with the hall presidents soon?" Mu Zhuoyun said with a jovial smile.

"You should be going to your own clan for this. Every auction house and Demon-Beast market in the Imperial Capital has the Mu name on it. What do you need me for?" Mr. Zhou raised an eyebrow, his expression perfectly composed — the picture of someone feigning ignorance.

"Dad, don't say that," Zhou Youhong cut in. "You know perfectly well how difficult Uncle Zhuoyun's situation is right now. If we can help, we should."

"Absolutely not. We're not family. The Zhou Clan may have influence in the Imperial Capital, but we still abide by the rules of the Noble Clans," Mr. Zhou replied flatly.

"Well..." Mu Zhuoyun's face reddened with embarrassment, and he found himself at a loss for words.

He hated having to ask favors — truly hated it — but he had no choice. He had an entire household to support: a sprawling family full of people who were mostly useless and spent money like water. He had told them time and again that life was no longer as comfortable as it had been in Bo City, but none of it had ever made any difference.

Watching Mu Zhuoyun hem and haw, Zhou Youhong's patience ran dry. He cut straight to the point.

"Uncle Zhuoyun, you know I'm completely sincere in my feelings for Mu Ningxue. Let's just go ahead and finalize the marriage — that way we'll have every reason to support you with everything we have. We truly sympathize with what happened to you in Bo City, and we know that right now, in the eyes of the greater Mu Clan, you're little more than an outsider living on borrowed goodwill. But once the marriage is settled, that changes everything. You'll be family to the Zhou Clan's direct line — even the Mu Clan, vast as it is, will have to show us face, and by extension, treat you with courtesy. And that's not all: Ningxue was severely injured this time, and we had planned to bring some of our finest heavenly spirit medicines from the storehouse to aid her recovery. They would work wonders for both her health and her cultivation. Unfortunately, since she isn't yet a member of our family, our clan head cannot authorize the release of something so precious. Uncle Zhuoyun, you really must think about what's best for Ningxue. And once she enters the inner school of the Imperial Capital Magic Academy — without the Zhou Clan's support behind her, whatever advantage her talent gives her will be swallowed up by others before long."

Zhou Youhong was done waiting. If the engagement was decided, he wanted it formalized without delay.

Mu Ningxue's graceful figure, her skin like jade and ice, that face that could topple kingdoms... he had been hungry for her for a long time. The thought that marriage would finally make her his only sharpened his tongue.

"This... this..." Mu Zhuoyun couldn't bring himself to decide. Deep down, he knew: once the marriage was sealed, his nearly-bankrupt little branch of the family would have a lifeline.

But...

The moment he thought of Mo Fan — that it was Mo Fan who had saved Ningxue's life — guilt struck him like a blow. To agree to this marriage so soon after... he could never face that boy's spirit in the afterlife.

"Perhaps we could wait a little longer? Ningxue's body is still so fragile right now. Pressing this on her all at once..." Mu Zhuoyun began.

"All the more reason to hold a wedding — a celebration will chase away the bad luck," Mr. Zhou said, his impatience finally surfacing.

"Her health comes first, of course," Zhou Youhong said, stepping back with measured grace. There was no need to press any further. Forcing a woman still confined to her sickbed into marriage would be far beneath him.

*That extraordinary woman — she'd be his sooner or later.*

"Then we'll take our leave. The business with the market halls — you're on your own with that." Mr. Zhou was as blunt as ever.

Zhou Youhong at least maintained the modest decorum befitting a prospective son-in-law, offering a proper farewell before turning to go.

Watching the father and son walk away, Mu Zhuoyun let out a long, heavy sigh.

Family, Noble Clan, Great Lineage — three entirely different things.

The branch of the Mu family that Mu Zhuoyun controlled had been no more than a petty tyrant presiding over Bo City. In the eyes of the true Mu Clan — the great lineage — they were nothing but a minor branch banished to an insignificant southern city.

Now Bo City was gone. Mu Zhuoyun had returned to the Imperial Capital with the shattered remnants of his family. But within this Ice Element clan — a lineage whose roots stretched back untold generations — only Mu Ningxue, who stood head and shoulders above her peers, carried any real standing. As for Mu Zhuoyun and Mu He, they were little more than glorified servants, dispatched at the whim of clan members who commanded far greater resources.

They were getting on in years. Their cultivation would advance no further, and building new connections was nearly impossible. Everything rested on the younger generation. Without that, those who bore the Mu name would spend the rest of their lives with their heads bowed — never able to look up again.